Kingston Frontenacs centre Gabriel Vilardi lifts Owen Sound centre Nick Suzuki's stick off the puck during the first period of their game in Kingston, Ont. on Friday, Feb. 9, 2018. Elliot Ferguson/The Whig-Standard/Postmedia Network

A week ago, Nick Suzuki was beating up on the Sudbury Wolves, racking up a goal and two assists in Owen Sound’s 5-3 exhibition win over the Sudbury Wolves. At that point, he was well-known in junior circles, but not necessarily a household hockey name, even among sports-minded families across Canada.

How quickly things can change.

The Attack forward was a key piece in this week’s NHL blockbuster involving the outgoing captain of the Montreal Canadiens, obviously one of the more storied franchises in all of sports. Needless to say, Suzuki’s name has been in headlines all week, throughout the hockey world, and that’s not about to stop anytime soon.

The deal was officially Max Pacioretty to the Vegas Golden Knights, in exchange for the 19-year-old Suzuki, who still has a season of junior eligibility, veteran NHLer Tomas Tatar and a second-round draft pick.

In the NHL of yesteryear, Tatar would be the key figure in the deal. I mean, he has been a consistent 20 goal scorer, basically dating back to 2013. But in the salary cap era, the opportunity to snag a player that another team selected 13th overall is tough to pass up for a team in need of a rebuild. So Habs GM Marc Bergevin pulled the trigger, no doubt causing Suzuki’s phone to blow up.

The big question now – will he be back in junior ever again?

It’s always interesting to see how these scenarios play out. If he was still in the Vegas system, it’s a safe bet he’d be returning to Owen Sound. But the Habs are a wild card.

The coming season would be Suzuki’s fourth with the Attack, and he has been a consistent contributor from Day 1. The London native potted 20 goals as a 16-year-old rookie and followed up with 45 goals and 96 points in his draft year, then 42 goals and 100 points as an 18-year-old. That placed him fourth in league scoring last season and he would be a sure bet to compete for the league scoring title this year against the likes of Sault Ste. Marie’s Morgan Frost, Kingston’s Jason Robertson and whoever else might take a step up.

Suzuki would also be a strong candidate for a shot at playing on Team Canada at the world juniors, assuming he’s still in junior.

But here’s the thing. The Canadiens are hurting up the middle, which is why they selected Finland’s Jesperi Kotkaniemi third overall at the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. It was a move that surprised Habs fans, who were expecting them to take highly skilled winger Filip Zadina. Instead, he fell into the lap of Detroit Red Wings GM Ken Holland, who selected him sixth overall.

The point is, Montreal is lacking at centre and Nick Suzuki spent most of his career playing that position. Not only can he fill the net, he’s also tremendously disciplined – 32 penalty minutes in 192 OHL games – earning him the league’s most sportsmanlike player award two years running.

As a longtime junior hockey observer, I’ve noted in this space before my personal dislike for players being taken to the next level too soon. The Connor McDavids of this world are an exception, it’s hard to argue that Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner were ready at 19. But most junior-aged players like Suzuki seem best-served by riding out their junior careers and joining the big club in their 20s.

It has been a while since any Sudbury Wolves have advanced early, but we saw it with the likes of Mike Fisher and Taylor Pyatt at the turn of the century. Both had solid NHL careers, so it’s anyone’s guess whether it affected them negatively in any way. But it’s probably safe to say another year in the Nickel City would not have hurt them one bit.

Suzuki told Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News following Monday’s trade that he has some unfinished business and would like to win a championship with Owen Sound. It will be interesting to see if he gets that chance, or if the Habs decide he’s ready for the next level now. Of course, he was also quoted as saying he’d love to stay in Montreal if the opportunity presents itself.

And who wouldn’t in his situation?

If not, Habs diehards will get to see him in Sudbury when the Attack visit the Wolves on March 1 – and quite possibly on their televisions over the Christmas holidays as a member of Team Canada.

One way or another, expect to hear the name Suzuki a lot — especially since his highly-talented younger brother Ryan of the Barrie Colts is draft eligible next summer.